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History is not about taking blames or demanding an apology

Most of us have experienced the dread of writing a history exam. I for one used to open the notebook and skim through the pages until the last minute, trying to cram all the monotonous names, dates and events. This is why most of us have grown up detesting this subject, but what I am going to tell you now might make you regret not listening to your history teacher after all.
Let us first look at the present: it's been 100 years since the horrible Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place - an atrocious killing spree during the Mahatma Gandhi era. But I am shocked by what we want now - an apology! What good is an apology when people have been murdered? Will we get back the innocent lives? No, we won't. And anyways, who is ever going to apologise for something that happened so long ago?
Benazir Bhutto once said, "Humility and grace in the face of adversity are the hallmarks of a true leader." From that viewpoint, Theresa May should be appreciated and not repudiated for accepting that the English's actions were a disgrace to their culture and universal values.
When all we want is just a vacuous "sorry", it shows us that we are looking at history from a very narrow angle. History is never about taking blames or demanding an apology; instead, it is a way for us to learn from our mistakes and experiences. Whether it's the nuclear disaster, the Chernobyl disaster, the Cold War or the attack on Pearl Harbour, what we need to gain from looking at these events is experience; what did we do wrong and why? Like KFC's secret formula, we are also looking for that panacea that can make our world the paragon of peace and tolerance.
Imagine an architect who wants to draw the blueprint of his building, but unfortunately, does not have a pencil. Think of that pencil as your past: Without the past, you can never build your future! Value history for the lessons it provides.
The writer is based in Dubai